See the whole storyOrigin of my surname

Originating from the Ji surname, it comes from Prince Jin, son of King Ling of Zhou. King Ling of Zhou had a son named Jin, who was the crown prince, also known as Prince Jin or Prince Qiao. He was deposed and reduced to a commoner for speaking out against the king. His son, Zong Jing, remained in the court as Minister of Education. Because he was a descendant of the royal family, people referred to his family as the Wang family, and his clansmen adopted Wang as their surname. During the pre-Qin period, this branch of the Wang clan was active in the Luoyang area of Henan. At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Wang Li's sons, Wang Yuan and Wang Wei, migrated to Langya in Shandong and Taiyuan in Shanxi respectively to escape war, eventually developing into two prominent Wang clans in Langya and Taiyuan. The Wang clan originating from the Ji surname has three branches: ① Descendants of Bi Gong of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Bi Gong was the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou and was enfeoffed in the State of Bi. During the Spring and Autumn Period, his descendant Bi Wan served as the Minister of Works in the State of Jin and was enfeoffed in Wei (north of present-day Ruicheng, Shanxi Province). His descendants adopted the name of their fiefdom as their surname, becoming Wei. During the Warring States Period, the states of Wei, Han, and Zhao divided the State of Jin. After Qin destroyed Wei, Wei Beizi, the grandson of Wei Wuji, fled to Mount Tai in Shandong. In the early Han Dynasty, Wei Beizi was appointed to an official post and was enfeoffed in Lanling Commandery. Because he was a descendant of royalty, his clan was called the Wang family, and from then on, they adopted Wang as their surname. ② This surname originated from the descendants of King Ping of Zhou in the early Spring and Autumn Period. King Ping reigned for 51 years. His crown prince died young, and after King Ping's death, his grandson Ji Chi succeeded to the throne. However, Ji Chi's younger brother Ji Lin usurped the throne and became known as King Huan of Zhou. Ji Chi fled to the State of Jin, and his descendants changed their surname to Wang because he had once been an emperor. Until the Tang Dynasty, this branch of the Ji-surname Wang clan lived in the Linyi area of Shanxi, historically known as the Wang clan of Hedong Yi. ③ Descendants of Huan Gong Jie, the younger brother of King Kao of Zhou. Huan Gong Jie was enfeoffed in Wangcheng (present-day Wangcheng Park, Luoyang). Although his fief was small, it was located in the western part of the Eastern Zhou capital, and he is historically known as Huan Gong of Western Zhou. After the fall of Western Zhou, his descendants migrated to Yizhou and Zhaoru in Henan. Because they had once lived in Wangcheng, they changed their surname to Wang, later becoming known as the Wangcheng Wang clan.

Originating from the Zi surname. At the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou was licentious and tyrannical. His minister, Bi Gan, repeatedly offended him by offering frank advice, but was killed in the process. Because Bi Gan was originally a prince, his descendants adopted Wang as their surname. From the pre-Qin period to the Han and Tang dynasties, the Wang clan of the Zi surname resided in the Henan region, forming the prominent Wang clan of Ji County (present-day Weihui, Xinxiang, Huixian, Huojia, and Xiuwu cities and counties in Henan Province). Later, they dispersed to Gansu, Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi.

Originating from the Gui surname. An important branch of the Wang surname is the Gui Wang clan, who venerate Emperor Shun as their ancestor. After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, Gui Man, a descendant of Emperor Shun, was enfeoffed in Chen. Later, Chen Wan, serving as an official in the state of Qi, changed his surname to Tian. After Qin conquered Qi, Tian Sheng and Tian Huan, sons of King Tian Jian of Qi, changed their surname from Tian to Wang. This branch of the Wang clan developed into a prominent family in Beihai and Qingzhou. Wang Mang of the Han Dynasty was from this branch of the Wang clan.

The surname Wang originated from the descendants of Prince Dan of Yan. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang seized the throne, established the Xin Dynasty, and declared himself king. Prince Dan's great-grandson, named Jia, presented a talisman (a sign or auspicious object indicating that the emperor had received his mandate from heaven) to Wang Mang, thus gaining his favor and being granted the surname Wang.

Originating from ethnic minorities, the Wang surname in large families incorporates a significant amount of non-Han ancestry. Major non-Han peoples with the surname Wang include: the Xiongnu and Qiang tribes during the Han Dynasty; the Goryeo and Xianbei peoples during the Northern and Southern Dynasties; the Yuezhi people during the Sui and Tang Dynasties; the Huihe Abusi clan during the Tang Dynasty; the Khitan people; the Jurchen people during the Jin Dynasty; the Tangut people of Western Xia during the Northern Song Dynasty; the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty; and the Manchus during the Qing Dynasty. Over time, these non-Han peoples adopted the Wang surname as a Han Chinese surname. The prevalence of the Wang surname in northern my country is closely related to the fact that northern ethnic groups prioritized the use of the Wang surname when adopting Han surnames.